Stephen slowly pulled a revolver from under the desk, and slowly, little by little, stood up.
The office lights were off.
Crimson moonlight streamed in from the window, falling upon a figure.
The man, wearing a felt hat, a knee-length thin trench coat, and carrying a golden revolver, was not short.
He wore a black iron mask on his face, revealing only his two eyes.
At this moment, those eyes were full of mockery.
"You actually sprayed perfume?"
"Hmm, this is 'Amber', right? This perfume isn't cheap."
"But you completely wasted it.
The proper way to use this perfume is to spray it some time before going out, allowing the top and middle notes to evaporate."
"That way, only the pure and subtle base note, not showy but noble, remains."
"Not like you, where the top notes haven't even evaporated, making you look like a nouveau riche who can't wait to tell everyone, 'I have plenty of money.'"
"Truly ignorant and superficial."
Stephen felt his cheeks burning, because the mysterious man had hit the nail on the head; he had indeed sprayed perfume on himself before going out tonight, and he also didn't know that spraying perfume required such meticulousness.
"Who are you?
Why are you targeting me?"
Stephen suddenly raised his arm, but before the black muzzle of his revolver could point at the other party, the masked man in the thin trench coat had already moved from his original position and raised his golden revolver.
Stephen quickly rolled behind the desk, and at the same time, a gunshot rang out, the tabletop splintering from the bullet.
"Targeting you? Don't misunderstand,
you're not worthy of being my target.
I just need a stepping stone, and you're barely suitable."
Stephen snorted, the feeling of being underestimated was unpleasant.
He peered out from behind the table and fired at the figure.
The dimness of the office was intermittently lit by the muzzle flashes.
After both sides had fired five or six shots, the room was a mess.
He had already fired five shots, it was time to reload.
Stephen boldly stood up from behind his cover, finding the masked man had returned to the entrance, a dense shadow behind him.
Sure enough, the masked man unlatched the cylinder of his golden revolver, preparing to reload.
"There's something behind you!" Stephen suddenly shouted, pointing behind him.
Lex would normally never believe such nonsense, but for some reason, he suddenly felt a chill, as if being watched by something mysterious from behind.
He instinctively turned his head, and at that moment, from the corner of his eye, Stephen lunged.
Lex, with the agility of a Hunter, quickly brushed past him, exchanging positions.
What just happened?
Why did a childish trick fool me?
Is this some kind of mystic ability?
He reached inside his trench coat.
Stephen, with his back to the shadows behind the door, raised his hand, a smirk on his lips, and said in a mocking tone, "You wouldn't be looking for these, would you?"
He opened his palm, and a few bullets dropped to the floor.
He had stolen Lex's ammunition!
Lex was stunned for a moment; was the leader of the Sea Serpent Gang a thief?
"You shouldn't have stood there," Lex said calmly from behind his mask.
"Now, you've fallen into my trap."
Stephen laughed, "You learn quickly, but do you think you can fool me?"
Swish -
A silver gleam appeared from the dense shadows, slicing across Stephen's arm and dislodging it directly from his shoulder.
The man's face changed.
He turned to shoot, still having one bullet in his pistol.
Unexpectedly, before he could turn around, he was forcefully struck.
Stephen let out a scream, flying across the office, crashing into a cabinet, and then sliding down.
He looked towards the door and saw a tall but beautiful girl emerge from the shadows.
The silver-white longsword in her hand was still stained with his blood.
Stephen raised his revolver, but blood suddenly bloomed on his arm.
He could no longer grip the revolver, letting it fall.
After the gunshot, the masked man said with a hint of a smile, "You wouldn't think I'd fight alone, would you?"
"Besides, who told you I only have one gun?"
Stephen turned his head and saw Lex holding another revolver, exquisitely styled and bright red.
Bang!
Lex shot Stephen in the thigh.
The Sea Serpent Gang leader screamed and crawled behind the table, barely clinging to life.
Lex gave Nafi a look, and the longsword-wielding warrior carefully circled to the other side of the table, flanking him.
"Honestly, I'm quite curious, with your level, how did you become a Gang leader?"
"Could it be by cozying up to some noblewoman?
Hmm, your appearance actually fits the aesthetic of some ladies."
"But it must be quite difficult to please a noble in all aspects, right?
Oh, perhaps multiple ones; that must be truly hard on you."
Stephen, hiding behind the table, had fire in his eyes.
"Shut your bird-mouth!
I achieved my current success through my own efforts!"
"What do you know, you know nothing!"
The man, who had already retrieved his revolver and reloaded it, stood up under the influence of rage and fired at Lex and Nafi.
Blood flowed incessantly from his wounds, and a demonic blood-fire flickered on his leg.
His physical strength and reaction time were rapidly deteriorating, but Stephen, whose mind was clouded by rage, neither noticed nor cared.
In a flash, the bullets ran out.
Stephen hurled the revolver at Lex, then suddenly clutched his head and let out a scream.
Lex, who dodged the revolver, couldn't help but wonder.
Had he been driven mad by himself?
Then, Stephen Shawn's face began to sprout black scales, one after another.
His pupils became vertical, and fleshy tendrils emerged from his fingers, one after another.
In a blink, those fleshy tendrils turned into fingers.
On Stephen's remaining hand, on his palm, each of his fingers had turned into a hand!
The mutation not only appeared on Stephen's hand but also at the site of his severed hand, and on his tongue!
In these places, fleshy tendrils, arms, and hands rapidly grew.
In an instant, Stephen had dozens, even hundreds, of hands on his body!
What was happening to him?
Could it be, loss of control?
Could it be that I provoked him into losing control?
Lex remained calm, one hand reaching into his pocket, grasping a rectangular silver plate, and softly chanted in ancient hermes from behind his mask: "Night!"
His other hand pressed his thumb against the hammer of Blood Praise, letting the two tiny fangs on it pierce his skin.
As blood dripped, it was quickly absorbed by the two fangs.
At this moment, Lex pressed down the hammer, offering his blood to enhance the power of the next bullet.
Now, Blood Praise glowed with a faint bloody light, which rapidly retracted into the gun body.
Stephen, who had transformed into a monster, spluttered and flailed his many hands, lunging at Lex.
Lex threw the prepared Charms at him.
Dark red flames instantly ignited in the office, and a slight explosion echoed in the room.
The power of slumber rapidly spread and rippled.
Stephen, who was running, suddenly closed his eyes, having fallen into a deep sleep.
Lex took the opportunity to aim at Stephen's head.
Bang!
The muzzle of Blood Praise spat out a burst of flame.
From the flame, a bullet, faintly wreathed in bloody light, sliced through the air and struck Stephen's forehead.
The monster's body shuddered, its eyes snapped open, and suddenly its entire back of the head burst open, a large amount of blood and white matter gushing out, painting the floor and windows in a mix of white and red.
This was an enhanced bullet!
This was the seventh bullet of Blood Praise!
It not only detonated all negative statuses on Stephen but also amplified the effect of 'massive bleeding', directly destroying Stephen's brain!
Looking at the monster with its hollowed-out head, and then at Lex, who held Blood Praise level, the tall warrior, who didn't have much combat experience yet, trembled slightly.
"Waaah, Mom really didn't lie to me.
Men outside are all so terrifying.
Maybe I should just go home."